Felt is a popular material for arts and crafts, one that you can find in most craft stores. It is a highly versatile type of natural fabric that feels light and cozy, with a structured look that allows the fabric to take various shapes and forms.
Felt is usually seen in children’s toys or in everyday household items like coasters, baskets, and pouches. It is a strong and durable type of fabric that is quite low maintenance and super friendly to beginners who are just experimenting with arts and crafts.
How do you sew felt by hand? Sewing felt by hand is like hand-sewing other materials. Use a medium-weight needle and thread to handle the thickness of felt. Try not to rub it too much when sewing as it can distort easily. The best stitches for hand-sewing felt are the blanket stitch, whipstitch, and running stitch.
In this article, we will walk you through some basics about this material, including how to sew felt by hand and some simple projects that you can start right now.
What is Felt?
Felt is a natural fabric made from the rubbing and combining of wool fibers using soap and water. Felting is a satisfying craft that allows you to transform wool fibers into everything you can think of, from small toys to handbags and even bigger garments like rugs.
Because of how it is made, the wool fibers are bonded together in no particular pattern. Felt sheets are strong, thick sheets of fabric that have a lot of structure and stability. Items made from felt are quite strong and durable, but they don’t need a lot of maintenance.
Of course, you don’t have to make felt from wool fibers yourself before sewing. You can find felt sheets in most craft stores since it is quite a popular material to make toys and small household items.
The felt sheets you can find in most craft stores are often made from synthetic fibers or even recycled plastic bottles, but the felt’s characteristics are somewhat the same.
Read on to find how to sew with felt sheets and some simple projects you can start today!
How To Sew Felt By Hand
Felt is a relatively thick material, so hand-sewing with felt requires some care to make sure that you don’t break any threads or needles or even injure yourself.
Since the fabric is thick, we recommend using a medium-weight needle along with medium-weight thread or even embroidery floss.
Depending on the thickness of the felt, you can employ a bigger needle, but since this material doesn’t heal very well (once the sheet is punctured, the holes will stay), we don’t recommend using a thick needle that will affect how your project will look.
Felt does not need to be pre-washed before you start your project, since it won’t shrink too much. After your project is finished, you can hand wash it in cold water and air dry.
It is very important that you don’t use warm water or put it in the washer and dryer since the heat can damage the felt and cause the fibers to separate.
Felt doesn’t fray after cutting, so you don’t have to worry about surging the edges to prevent fraying. You can easily cut felt into shapes with just a rotary cutter or sharp fabric scissors.
Take care when you sew with felt, as too much rubbing or pressure can distort the fabric’s shape. Since the fabric doesn’t heal very well, you should pay attention to where you insert the needle so that you don’t accidentally create small holes all over your project.
When it comes to sewing with felt, there are a few stitches that can create different looks for your project. We will introduce you to each one below.
Blanket Stitch
A blanket stitch is often used to join two pieces of felt together at the edge.
The stitch creates a line right at the edge of the fabric, held together by parallel lines going around the shape of the fabric. Here’s how to do a blanket stitch:
Step 1
Knot the end of your thread to secure it. Insert your needle from the middle of your two layers to the other side and pull it through.
Step 2
Insert the needle from the backside through the same hole, creating a small loop. Put the needle through the loop and pull the thread tight.
Step 3
Insert the needle from the backside to the front side, creating a new hole a short distance from the last one, creating a diagonal loop. Put the needle through the loop and pull through.
Step 4
Repeat step 3 until you have reached the end of your fabric. You have now successfully joined two pieces of felt with a blanket stitch.
Whipstitch
A whipstitch looks very similar to a blanket stitch but without the line of thread at the edge of the fabric. A whipstitch is a very simple stitch that helps you join the seams of two different felt fabric sheets with ease.
Here’s how to do it:
Step 1
Knot the end of your thread to secure it. Insert your needle from the middle of your two layers to the other side and pull it through.
Step 2
Insert the needle from the back to the front of the two sheets of fabric, with the new insert a short distance from the last hole.
Step 3
Repeat step 3 until you have covered the entire seam of your project.
Running Stitch
A running stitch is often used to join two pieces of fabric, but with felt, it will look great for appliqué since it can add a nice finishing touch to your project.
A running stitch is also super simple to do; here’s how:
Step 1
Knot the end of your thread to secure it. Insert your needle from the middle of your two layers to the other side and pull it through.
Step 2
Insert your needle from the front to the back of the fabric a short distance from the last hole. Pull the thread through.
Step 3
Insert your needle from the back to the front of the fabric a short distance from the last hole. Pull the thread through.
Step 4
Repeat step 2 and step 3 until you have created the desired pattern.
Hand Sewing Felt Projects – Free Patterns
Now that you know the basics about hand sewing with felt, here are a few simple projects that you can start right now to produce some beautiful and practical items for everyday use.
1. Easy DIY Felt Coasters by jessyratfink
Check out the free pattern here
The easiest project that you can start making today is some felt coasters! They are highly customizable coasters that are dependable and super green.
It doesn’t get easier than this. You only need to cut out a few shapes that you like in the color of your choosing and sew the two sides together with a whip stitch. Then you’ll have some really useful coasters to brighten up your living room!
2. Simple Felt Needle Case by Sum of Their Stories
Check out the free pattern here
This felt needle case pattern from Sum of their Stories Craft Blog is a really simple, detailed pattern that can generate a useful item for your craft bag.
We love that it comes with detailed instructions with pictures for each step in the process. The pattern calls for blanket stitches and running stitches, which are quite simple to do.
This is a really quick and simple project that requires very little materials as well as skills. You can have a small felt needle case to add to your craft bag in no time!
3. Handy Dandy Bottlecap Pincushion by verybigjen
Check out the free pattern here
Another great addition to your craft bag can be this pincushion, which takes less than an hour to make. This tiny pin cushion can be a useful tool when you work on your sewing projects, and it takes very little materials to accomplish.
We love that the pattern comes with pictures to walk you through each step of the way, and you only need to know the blanket stitch and the running stitch to achieve a nice-looking result. This quick project is also a great one to use up the spare felt in your stash since it is so tiny!
4. Elephant Door Stop by Create Studio
Check out the free pattern here
This pattern is a little bit more complicated, requiring some patience and a bit more material, but the result is so worth it because this elephant toy is incredibly cute. You can work on this project with your small children, and they will appreciate the result even more.
Fortunately, the pattern is quite simple to follow; you will only need to use the whip stitch and some patience to put this elephant together. This felt toy will be a great addition to your children’s bedrooms – or yours!
5. DIY Faux Industrial Felt Basket by Delia Creates
Check out the free pattern here
Since felt is a really sturdy and structured material, it also makes great baskets! This felt basket pattern is quite detailed, allowing you to make a highly functional item for your home.
The handles are optional, but if you want to add a little bit more functionality to your basket, you can add the handle straps to carry your basket around. A felt basket alone should be able to satisfy your everyday needs. It helps that this basket looks really structured, like it is store-bought, so it adds a nice touch to your home or office.
Up Next: 11 Free Patterns For A Chunky Crochet Basket
